Zofia Kowalczyk arrived in America with two suitcases, a wooden spoon, and the unshakable belief that women should be able to chop wood, change a tire, and out-wit any man before breakfast. In 1954, after allegedly winning a county fair tug-of-war single-handedly, she founded Camp Java on 47 mosquito-heavy acres and declared it a sanctuary for “girls who climb trees in dresses and mean it.”

Her camp motto—“Postawa prosta, serce odważne” (“Stand tall, heart brave”)—was embroidered onto every sash, pillowcase, and possibly one canoe.

Under Babcia Zofia’s leadership, campers learned:

• How to start a campfire with one match and pure stubbornness

• How to canoe upstream while reciting poetry

• How to bake pierogi for 60 people without consulting a recipe or showing fear

• How to say “no” in three languages and mean it

She insisted on daily “Strong Woman Hour,” which rotated between weightlifting, public speaking, and writing strongly worded letters to the local council about potholes.

Legends claim she once fixed a dock during a thunderstorm while humming a lullaby and that she could silence a room of 200 campers with a single raised eyebrow. She believed braids should be tight, boots should be broken in, and apologies should be rare and intentional.

When asked why she founded the camp, she reportedly said, “Because the world is loud. Girls must be louder—and kinder.”

Her official title was Camp Director.
Her unofficial title was “The Reason We Don’t Quit.”